havent read the whole responses to this thread but if it hasnt been mentioned.. not sure bombing gets us anything this year with the impending lockout.. there arent going to be any good underclassmen who are declaring for the draft. So unless Kyle Singler becomes all of the sudden coveted by the league's GM's for some reason, the lottery pick wont be much of an asset this year IMO.
Good frickin' lord. What a massive overreaction to some injuries and a crappy period of play. The Blazers are 8-8 and 4 of their losses are by a combined total of 6 points. The team needs some corrections, but it's far from a blow-it-up and hope things work out in the future situation. Due to injuries, this team is a month behind the competition in developing a playing rotation. We're undersized because Joel and Greg are out, but that's going to change soon. Cho will likely have a disabled player exception to work with soon to bolster the lineup. Most of all, IT'S STILL FRICKIN' NOVEMBER PEOPLE. There's a lot of basketball to be played and the Blazers are only a few wins from being back in the mix. Despite all of the hand wringing that goes on around here, not all of the bad stuff that happens in the NBA happens only to the Blazers. Some of the teams in front of us will have injuries or other disruptions that impact their play. The Blazers will play better. If things aren't shaping up as we close in on the trade deadline, it may make sense to think about making moves with an eye on retooling for the future, but now isn't that time.
I don't understand why we'd give away everyone and anyone and then expect to be better off. How are we going to acquire a better C prospect than Oden--even with his injuries--any time soon? How are we going to get a superior PF than Aldridge? A better, younger SF than Batum? Why would we change coaches if we're blowing things up? If the coach is being tuned out, isn't that better, so we lose as many games as possible? I am not averse to trading Miller, Joel and even Camby... for younger players or picks or younger rotation guys on longer contracts. It might hurt us in the short run, but it would help build on the base that we have. Tearing down the base we have seems like a terrible idea. Ed O.
Let me see. The draft? For example, Roy Hibbert was a 17th pick a few seasons ago and developed nicely for the Pacers.
Do you mean how good Batum actually is playing right now or how good some of us perceive he might become? Replacing Batum's current production wouldn't be all that difficult. Replacing the Platonic Ideal of Future Batum would be.
Stern's expressed goal in the new CBA is a 30% reduction in player payroll, and a hard cap to keep salaries suppressed. The only way to accomplish that, will be to make all existing contracts voidable (ie non-guaranteed). Take a look at NBA payrolls. How many teams can absorb a 30% cut without dumping a significant chunk of their current rosters? Teams will find ways to keep their stars, but a lot of good players are going to be hitting the free agent market. Players like LMA and Matthews - good, but overpaid - are going to be looking for work at whatever they can get. In the post lockout upheaval, the successful teams will be the ones who do the best job playing this new FA market. They won't need 5-6 years to rebuild/retool.
dammit I rue the days when a good front office will be what gets you good, as opposed to an advantage with money. Wonder if there will be signing bonuses and stuff with free agents.
So you're saying that the average mid-first round center is as good a prospect as Oden is right now? Do you want me to detail all the flops? Or at least two, to indicate how silly pointing to a single player that might work out is? Ed O.
The NPV of Batum. How he's playing this week has almost no bearing on the net present value that he has. Ed O.
I don't know that individual agreements can be retroactively made voidable. The contracts are agreements between individuals and their teams, and the players will decertify before they allow a union to strip them of hundreds of millions of guaranteed dollars (even assuming the union could do that). Ed O.
PG: SG: Wesley Matthews SF: Nicolas Batum PF: LaMarcus Aldridge C: And go from there. Find a way to get: And we're where we were three years ago but at least we'd have a future to look forward to!
